Maybe, High school never ends
by ohmyabbey
Summary: High School fic. Its Kate's first day at Beacon Hills' High School, she arrives with hopes of meeting some interesting friends this year, and stumbles across the Hale family. Kate/Laura friendship. Derek/Kate- Early days!
1. It's good to be home, from time to time

Kate was running late. This was unusual as normally her body-clock was spot on, she cursed herself inwardly for allowing herself an extra ten precious minutes in bed. She hadn't had time for breakfast so she'd grabbed an apple from the counter and shouted her a quick goodbye to her brother Chris.  
>She cursed him inwardly as well, he was a Senior and got away with skipping school alot back home, something she assumed he was trying out here.<p>

She climbed clumsily into her rusting Camaro, which she doubted was even second hand when her dad had bought it for her, she pulled out of her driveway with acute precision as she was an excellent driver and although Chris would never admit it, definitely better than him, she had excellent reflexes, something he'd had to work on in order to be a good hunter. Kate concentrated harder on the road today, trying desperately to keep her mind, and nervous stomach off today's challenge; her first day at Beacon Hills' High School.

Kate had to be tougher than most high school students, being raised into a family of devoted hunters, but the prospect of being a newcomer at a high school of all things, filled her with a feeling of nausea.

Beacon Falls could never be classified as a big town, and as she pulled into the school parking lot a mere ten minutes later, Kate had already begun wishing that the town's population was infinitely higher. Small towns like this developed small town syndrome, in which everybody knew everybodies business, no secrets in a place like this, well that was the assumpton.

Due to her slight tardiness the parking lot was largely full, and it took her a few minutes before she spotted a space in a darkened corner by the West block. Kate parked next to a shiny black chevy camaro, she spent a few seconds both admiring it, and envying its owner before she was overtaken by the familiar feeling of panic, and she picked up her pace and power-walked to class.

Five minutes later Kate was comfortably situated in her new British History classroom, the classrom itself was pretty easy to find, situated on the main corridor that had been built in a slightly confusing quad shape. The History teacher Mr Kane, a tall dangly man, with glasses and a twitch had seated her next to a pretty brunette who had smiled fleetingly at her when she arrived, but now seemed more interested in Mr Kane's lecture.

'It is possible that throughout history creatures may have been mistakenly personified, it is possible, though highly unlikely Mr Wells, that mysteries such as serial killings may have been the work of animals we now have far more knowledge about, but that we were not aware of before.' Mr Kane dismissed the boy's further attempts to question him and continued loudly 'This week you are to produce a character profile on somebody you deem to be interesting during the British Renaissance period, you are to work with your desk partner, and time is 'a wasting, so get cracking!' Mr Kane retreated to behind his mahogany desk with a cup of coffee and a crossword, leaving Kate to introduce herself to her new neighbour, this particular part she had been dreading the most.

Kate waited patiently for the girl to finish scribbling notes furiously, and highlighting everything so much so that the pink fluorescent color of the page was blinding her slightly and when the pretty brunette finally looked up Kate had her arranged her features into the best game-face she could muster up.

'I'm right to assume you're new?' Kate nodded, unsure as to whether they were going to get along, she hadn't had many friends at her old school, she had learned the hard way to be very careful when deciding who and who not to trust.

The brunette arranged her face into a dazzling smile that seemed genuine, and somehow Kate found herself telling the brunette her name, and why she'd come to Beacon Falls. 'I'm Kate, Kate Argent, my dad's from her originally, when he and my mom split he decided to move back here, I guess he got tired of the big city, my mom travels a lot, so for me and my brother Beacon Hills was the less lonely option.' Kate blushed, hoping she'd not bored this girl for all of two minutes, but the brunette looked fascinated.

'Your brother, is he older?' She inquired, Kate nodded, 'Does he suffer from big-brother syndrome, symptoms are over protectiveness, and anger at any male who shows the slight bit of interest in you?' Kate laughed, a high pitched relieved sound, that was Chris down to a T.

Although she forced herself not to think of the real reason her brother was so overprotective. The bell rang in shrill tones, breaking Kate out of reverie. 'We've managed to do absolutely no work' the brunette remarked, smirking as she gathered up her books, Kate mirrored her actions worrying about what she'd find in her next class. The brunette walked her out of the door and down the long corridor she'd hurried up earlier, a blur of pastel colors and strange smells that represented High School.

Kate had toured the school last week and had a vague idea about where she was going. The brunette came to a stop outside a brown door with a circular pane of class on it, showing the math class inside which was slowly filling up. The brunette turned and smiled at Kate, 'I'm not saying you have to or anything, but if you need someone to sit with at lunch...' she trailed off,

'That'd be great, as long as you don't mind me tagging along' The girl smiled and turned to go into class, when a sudden thought struck Kate, 'I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?'  
>'Laura' The brunette said with emphasis, 'Laura Hale'.<p> 


	2. A change in the weather

**A Change in the Weather**

_A drop in the ocean,  
>A change in the weather,<br>I was praying that you and me might end up together. _

The shrill of the lunch bell made Kate audibly let out a sigh of relief, gathering her books quicker than she had before, and ducking out of the classroom where most of her classmates still lingered. Biology never had been her strongest subject, she tended to zone out and imagine herself running through the woods, surrounded by the type of nature she could actually touch, rather than be lectured on mammal's reproduction habits.

Lunch brought with it it's own challenge, meeting new people. Laura introduced her to a group of people, quickly rattling of their names, a little too quickly for Kate. Once they had all settled onto a table Kate could feel her attention slipping, the all familiar feeling of detachment overtook her and she began staring into space, hoping to become invisible to the group she could already feel herself struggling to identify with, she'd always had this problem, struggling to find common ground with most people, mostly she found herself pretending to like things she certainly did not, she'd been to pop concerts of bands she couldn't stand, and to book readings of authors she deemed to be terrible.

Kate mentally shook herself as she realized she wasn't staring into empty space, but directly at a dark haired boy who was getting closer and closer, as he walked closer Kate noticed that he strikingly resembled her new classmate Laura, he had the same eyes, crystal blue and incredibly striking. Kate tried not to stare as the boy walked over to Laura and started talking, he was first and foremost, absolutely beautiful. No doubt about that. His jaw was exquisitely chiselled, flawless, and serious, very serious. He was talking quietly to Laura, who was sat a few feet away from Kate.

'If you're not going to be home straight after school Derek, I told you that I need your keys. Everyone will be out and I can't sit outside my own house for hours can I?' Laura was saying, an annoyed expression looking out of the ordinary on her usually serene face.

'And I told you that I don't trust you with my keys Laura, not after you lost them last time.' The boy retorted, looking amused. Kate guessed that the teasing was a usual occurrence. The boy must have sensed her gaze because he lifted his eyes up to hers, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.

'Made a new friend Laura?' Laura made a frustrated sound. 'Be sure to run when you find out how strange my little sister is' This time he directed his comment directly at Kate, leaving her incapable of speech. He stared at her unflinchingly, for perhaps a second too long, dropped a set of house keys in front of Laura, walked across the cafeteria and exited through the double doors, most of the table watched him go, the girl next to Kate giggled quietly, she actually giggled.

Kate let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was keeping in, she tried to concentrate on Laura's chatter, which had now resumed in full force, and was apparently directed at some girl called Cathy. Kate's head was whirring, she was already vainly hoping she would run into Laura's brother again, Derek she had called him.  
>Kate fought with herself for the rest of the day, the more impulsive part of her wanted to catch a glimpse of the beautiful boy again, whilst the rational and considerate part of her wondered why on earth she was wasting her brain energy thinking about Derek Hale, after he'd spoken to her for all of ten seconds. Kate found herself wondering about Laura and Derek's relationship, did it resemble her's with Chris, strained to say the very least, with a lot of talking, but nothing really being said.<p>

When she got home she was greeted by her brother parked in front of the TV, her father out working late, and mass amounts of boxes in her room, they definitely needed unpacking. Kate had been putting it off for over a week now, grabbing only the essentials each day, and trying to prevent her father from seeing inside her room, and realising how little progress she had made.

'K, dad left us money for take-out, I'm thinking Chinese?' Chris shouted up the stairs, his voice travelling easily in the small house.

'Sure, whatever' Kate called back, Chris always got his own way, and when he was being really clever, he tricked you into thinking that it was your choice. Kate had been a victim of these many times, she knew she had the strength inside of her to stand up to him, to anybody really, but she never used it, life was much easier as a walking, talking, wallflower.  
>Despite having bits of homework to do, Kate quickly changed into her nicer pair of jeans, and a cream blouse, grabbed her car keys and shot out of the front door, before Chris could stop her, and interrogate her. On her way out she grabbed the purple jacket she'd worn to school today, and rifled in the pockets, pulling out a lined piece of paper.<p>

The piece of paper had been given to her in fourth period, Math. Laura had written down her number for Kate, she'd assumed it was entirely to do with the assignment they'd been set, but upon handing it over, Laura had told Kate

'If you're ever bored, and want to talk, or you know meet up somewhere, chances are; I'll be available, so don't hesitate to call you hear me?'

Kate stared at her cell phone for a few seconds before she began punching numbers in, she considered the fact that Laura may have given her number in order to be polite, and hadn't really expected Kate to call, but Kate went ahead and pressed the green button anyway.

It rang a couple of times, before a voice chimed

'Hello, Laura's phone, how may I help you?' The voice was dripping with amusement, and sounded familiar.

'It's Kate, I was wondering whether or not you were busy?'

'Well hello Kate, I'm Derek Hale and I'm certainly not busy.'


	3. Two spinning spheres in a bed of stars

_Tied up in ancient history,  
>I didn't believe in destiny,<br>I look up you're standing next to me,  
>What a feeling.<em>

Kate jumped to fast she almost dropped her phone, she began mentally scolding herself for calling, when she realised she hadn't said anything in a good thirty seconds.

'I.. erm, I was looking for Laura, I wanted to see whether she wanted to work on the history project we've been set' Kate forcibly stopped herself before she progressed into full-blown rambling.

'Now correct me if I'm wrong Kate, but don't you have a week and a half to finish the history presentation? Why so desperate to do it tonight?' He sounded highly amused, making Kate more defensive. She envisioned Laura coming home after school and relaying detail upon detail of her day to her brother, a simple, minor task that she couldn't do.

'I just didn't want to sit at home tonight, procrastinating.' Kate sighed, she had done this many a night.

Derek paused for a moment before answering, it didn't make Kate uncomfortable though, she could tell that he was considering a response.

'Well we can't have that, Laura's out training with my uncle Peter at the moment, you could always come over to the house and wait for a while?' He said, leaving the question open to Kate's response.

'Sure, if that's okay with you, that is?' She replied quickly, before she had time to talk herself out of it.

'I asked didn't I?' He said cockily. 'See you soon K' he hung up. It took Kate a few seconds to realise that he had called her K. She usually hated it when her brother said it, but Derek made it sound normal, like it rolled off of his tongue easily, everyday.

Kate climbed into her car and sat quietly for a moment, wondering why on earth she had agreed to go over, Laura could be hours, and whilst the prospect of being alone with Derek was thrilling, it was also incredibly intimidating.

Approximately eight minutes later, Kate pulled up outside the Hale house. She'd envisioned it to be harder to find, but the directions Laura had given her earlier had made it incredibly simple. The house was impressive, three storeys and surrounded by green woodland, recreating that calm feeling she always got in the middle of the woods.

The only problem was that there was no sign of life, in fact the only clue that anybody lived here, was the beautiful black Camaro she'd been admiring earlier sitting in what had been made into a driveway.

Derek's car, she automatically assumed. She remembered vaguely Laura asking chatty Cathy for a ride somewhere earlier.

Kate parked near the car and climbed out, listening intently for any sign of life. The woods were silent, barely a bird tweeting or a branch crackling. Kate thought about how great it would be to live out here in such seclusion, she particularly hated making small talk with her own neighbours, who were inevitably nosy.

She walked up to the porch, conscious of her every step on the ground being amplified by the silence. The large door did not have a doorbell, only a brown wooden knocker in the shape of a lion, or maybe a wolf, she didn't know.  
>Kate knocked three times and waited, no answer. She was sure he'd said 'see you soon', that implied he'd actually be in, didn't it? She knocked again, this time not exactly expecting an answer. After a minute she gave up, and wandered back down the steps, unsure of where to go from here.<p>

Purely on instinct she decided to go around the back of the grand house, mentally noting that there was likely to be more that one door. She was heading around the back when she heard a voice, Derek's voice, talking in an angry tone, she leaned closer to the decking and saw that he had a phone clutched to his ear.

'I told you mother, she's out with Peter right now.' Kate realised that Laura hadn't mentioned her mother at all today, 'He's doing his best okay? He can't do it all, and neither can I, she needs you and your guidance.' Kate assumed that Derek meant that in a general all teenage girls need their mom kind of way.

'Of course she's scared, she's hiding it well. I think I should train her, not Peter. She trusts me more.' Now Kate was completely confused, was Laura some kind of professional athlete? Another thing she had failed to mention to Kate during their multiple conversations today.

'Fine, I will leave it for now. It really is about time that you stopped running scared mom, she needs you. I need you' And with that he hung up the phone.

Kate lingered awkwardly in the position she'd been in to eavesdrop. She waited a few minutes before rounding the corner and knocking on the front door again.

This time her knocking was answered swiftly, Derek answered the door in dark jeans and a black v-neck, all remnants of the rather intense phone call Kate had just overheard wiped from his face. His smile was confident and easy, and Kate wasn't so sure she believed it any more.

-  
>Derek had tried hard to clear his mind before opening his front door, he quickly glanced in the mirror before doing so and frowned at his complexion. His eyes were tight, and dark bags were in danger of appearing. For a moment after his mother had called, he had hoped it was her at the door. She'd been gone for a few weeks now, Laura blamed herself, blamed the fact that she was improving everyday, getting stronger, faster, smarter. Derek on the other hand blamed his Uncle Peter, to most people he seemed a quiet, melancholy man, but to Derek's mother it was a whole different story.<p>

He didn't know why he invited the girl to come over, he sensed straight away that she could be infinitely more than she was pretending to be, she was uninterested in high school gossip, and notably quiet unless spoken too.

He opened the door and inhaled deeply, enjoying her intoxicating scent, enjoying the maddening effect this girl was having on him.


	4. Show me where, you lost your heart

**A/n; So I officially suck, this has taken me far too long sorry! Things are a little crazy at the moment. I wanted to make the point that I am British, so I'm sorry for any spelling confusions or anything, oh and please keep reviewing I really love reading them! And last but not least, enjoy!**

_I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name,  
>Like a fool at the top of my lungs,<br>Sometimes when I close my eyes,  
>I pretend I'm alright, but it's never enough<em>

Kate was perched awkwardly on the edge of a black leather chair, in Derek Hale's living room. He was standing, more like leaning, casually on the door frame. Strangely enough, Kate did not feel the need to fill the silence, as she did with most people.  
>Derek didn't look uncomfortable, he looked outwardly relaxed, but Kate guessed that after the call she had just overheard, all was not well.<p>

'I don't spend too much time inside, as you can probably see' he commented, gesturing to the odd clutter scattered around, most of it obviously belonging to a girl, Laura, Kate guessed.

'What do you normally do outside before sunset?' She maintained eye contact with him for a few seconds, bowed to the pressure, and looked down at her interlaced hands.

'I.. find a decent spot, one where I can see the sun real good, and I just watch.' he smirked, surveying Kate's reaction, when she did not give one he continued, 'Is that not crazy enough for you K?' he laughed.

Kate forcibly stopped herself from blushing, now would have been an opportune time to tell him that she spent a lot of time outdoors too, albeit for a very different reason, but all the same.

'That sounds perfect. A perfect end to an otherwise awful school day' He sensed the bitterness in her voice, that she was trying to disguise.

'It's tough being new.' He remarked, going silent for a few seconds before his eyes lit up in the form

of an idea, 'Follow me?'

Twenty minutes later, Kate was hiking through the undergrowth, with some difficulty in her ballet flats. She was tailing Derek, who looked extremely good from behind. He was carrying a bag of snacks, and a couple of cans of mountain dew, he'd advised Kate that the sunset would make the both of them hungry. Kate beat off another branch, coming towards her threateningly, and let out a gasp as she almost tripped.  
>Derek turned and tried unsuccessfully, to stop himself from laughing.<p>

'You didn't exactly tell me to come prepared!' Kate winged, she was normally so much better than this, she concluded quickly that it was Derek's fault, Derek with his bloody lovely blue eyes.  
>After another five minutes he slowed, cocking his head to figure out his bearings. Kate had the weirdest thought, it seemed as though he was listening to the woods, but when she tried it, she rendered it impossible, as all she could hear was the sound of her own laboured breathing.<p>

When he was convinced of their heading they set off again, only a few metres, up a sharp slope that Kate certainly did not appreciate, to an opening in the trees. The trees parted to a collection of conveniently placed boulders, overlooking a valley of green below. The sun was fully visible, a beautiful fiery orange color in the sky. They put down their things and stood for a moment, smiling an appreciative smile at one another that sent butterflies through Kate's stomach, combined with a twinge of fear. Fear because of how fast this was all going, this morning she had been a new girl in an traditional small town, and tonight she was watching the sun set with this beautiful boy. A beautiful boy who probably wouldn't like her if he found out she'd been eavesdropping on his particularly private conversation.

'Have you ever come up here with Laura?' Kate asked, purely out of curiosity. He turned to face her, absent mindedly moving to pluck a piece of her brunette hair away from her face. Upon realizing what he was doing he pulled back quickly, taking what Kate perceived as a deep breath and replied

'No, I keep this baby all to myself... so consider yourself honored' he added.

Kate did feel honored, he was effectively sharing his safe haven with her, and he by no means had to. Kate looked up at him and noticed he was looking at her curiously, here came the inevitable twenty questions.

But the questions didn't come, he simply said 'I think Laura loves you already'

'I'm sure she doesn't, she seems to have plenty of friends already' She replied.

'She has friends, but none of them really care. They're friends simply because they've grown up together, its such a small town, most of the time you have to make do' Kate laughed, it was hard to imagine Derek settling for anything less than what he wanted.

'What's funny?'

'I just cant imagine you.. making do'

'I don't really. I actually like my own company' Kate laughed again, feigning surprise.

'I like things others don't, I don't like computer games, I don't like getting wasted for the sake of it' Kate felt like she was getting a quick run down of Derek's personality, trying to mentally take note in case any of it came in handy later.

The sun was almost down now, resting beautifully just on the tip of the horizon. Kate had an irritable feeling in her gut that once the sunset ended, their conversation would too, but she did nothing to stop it.

They sat in silence for the next minute, Kate imagined the space between them sizzling with the spark she'd witnessed in the movies. She shook herself mentally, real life wasn't at all like the movies.

'We'd better head back now, you don't know what's in the woods after dark!' He proclaimed with a cheeky grin.

'Well you are, apparently'

He grinned again, wider still.

'Only sometimes.' And with that he disappeared behind the trees, leaving Kate no option but to follow him, like she had been all afternoon.

The walk back turned out to be less silent than the walk there, Derek asked abstract questions, like the name of her first pet, her favourite teacher in Kindergarten, and her favourite member of The Beatles. She considered this to be a strange way to get to know her, but it was a way at least.

When they arrived back at the house, Laura was sat delicately on the porch. Reading a book under one of the fixed Lamps. Eat, Pray, Love was the book, and Laura exclaimed that it was her 'Guilty pleasure' in response to Derek's raised eyebrows.

Laura tried to coax Kate inside, and when Kate politely declined, shot her brother a look for 'tiring Kate out'.

Kate said a quick goodbye to prevent awkwardness descending, and climbed into her car. Laura and Derek were both ascending the steps to her house, when Derek turned, Laura was oblivious, and he

smiled, that knowing smile he'd began to use around her, and this time she returned it.

When she got home she received no acknowledgement from Chris, who was still camped out on the sofa, this time playing an Xbox game involving a lot of blood. For once, Kate didn't try hard to talk to him, she found herself content to just walk past to her room, and not slamming the door with frustration for once.  
>She flopped onto her bed, tripping over boxes of clothes as she did so, and closed her eyes. After a few seconds of closing her eyes, images began forming in her head, one particular one, the most beautiful blue eyes, slipped away into her dreams with her.<p> 


	5. they say baby, for everything, a reason

**A/N- I really really suck, I realise this update has been so long coming! The worst case of writers block combined with a real busy schedule. I've decided to be a tiny bit strange and switch to the first person, I'll find it easier to switch viewpoints this way, and I find it easier to write like this. Please read and review, I love reading them! xxx**

_The same old lines, the same old stories of  
>Breathless trains and, worn down glories<br>Houses burning, worlds that turn on their own_

She was running. Faster than she ever had before, her legs screaming at her to stop as they burned. She couldn't stop or it would catch her.  
>She paid no attention to the branches clawing away at her skin, drawing blood each time.<br>She flew through the wilderness, unable to scream. She didn't have the breath.  
>She didn't risk looking behind her, maybe in the end her terror would completely cripple her.<p>

Maybe she should just give up now, stop fighting and give in to it. The second that thought entered her mind, she stumbled, only ever so slightly.  
>It was enough, that half a second she had slowed meant that it had caught her. Her throat produced the most shrilling, terrified scream she had ever heard-<p>

'K! Wake up for god's sake!' I became vaguely aware that someone was shaking her, my eyes took a few seconds to focus on who was in front of me. Chris was sat on my bed, looking distinctly annoyed.

'You want to stop screaming the house down now?' He said curtly. I glanced at my clock, seeing that it was 7.30 am, late to be just waking up for me, but incredibly early for Chris who only turned up to school when he felt like it. I pushed him off the bed with a definite kick, clambering out of my covers quickly.

I had been screaming, that certainly wasn't normal behaviour. If only I could remember what I'd been dreaming about, a blur of the color green, and my own terror was all I could recognise.

I walked over my mirror, and was not confronted with a pleasant sight. Chris walked past me and stalked out the room, 'I'm going back to bed. Have a good day' was all he said. Our conversation was basic now, lacking depth and emotion.  
>We'd been so close as children, and normally an absentee parent makes siblings grow closer. With me and Chris it was the opposite effect, we'd both retreated into ourselves, content to go on that way.<br>I'd learned to stop relying on him for the little things, like making me laugh when I was down about something.  
>I sensed it would get worse with time. That when we were older our lives would be entirely separate, maybe seeing each other once at year at Thanksgiving, or Christmas.<p>

I showered quickly, barely noticing the scolding temperature, too lost in my own jumbled thoughts.  
>I thought back to last night, watching the Sunset with a beautiful boy had made my day at a new school, altogether less depressing.<br>I pulled on a pair of jeans, barely looking to see what they were, combining it with one of my only clean t-shirts, and my leather jacket. Like yesterday, I didn't have time for breakfast, but this time I didn't grab an apple, I still felt a little too nauseous from the nightmare to eat.

I checked my phone, not expecting to have anybody wanting to contact me. I was surprised to see a text from Laura, reminding me of Derek's comment last night; 'I think Laura loves you already '. The text read: 'Meet me in the Parking lot before school? I'm sorry if my brother scared you away last night! Xxx'

Not having time to reply, I found myself hoping desperately that she would wait. Laura Hale could be the only friend I made around here, but my instincts told me she'd be a darn good one. I had been trained to trust my instincts, profoundly.

When I pulled into the parking lot I found that finding a space was made incredibly easy today, due to me actually being on time for once.

My face broke out into an unreserved smile when I saw Laura lounging next to Derek's car with chatty Cathy. I made my way over to her quickly, finding myself eager to socialise for the first time in ages. Cathy greeted me warmly, I'm assuming she'd caught on that I might be hanging around for a while.

'Morning!' Laura smiled, after only knowing her two days, it struck me that Laura Hale was a decisively optimistic person, rarely seen without a smile on her face. 'I'm sorry I wasn't home last night, I was shopping with my Uncle'  
>This apparently sparked chatty Cathy's interest, and as she began grilling Laura on details I found distinctly boring. I couldn't prevent it, suspicion reluctantly made its way into my head. I could swear that Derek had said 'training', he'd said that Laura was training with her Uncle.<p>

I mentally shrugged the thoughts off with difficulty, figuring some kind of miscommunication problem. Derek was nowhere to be seen, much to my well hidden disappointment. I couldn't seem to stop my eyes from straying, and surveying the parking lot for his distinctive figure.

'Are we going in?' I interjected, most liking cutting off Cathy's line of chatter. Laura shot me a grateful look for that, and in that look I realised we had a lot more in common that I'd previously thought. Some kind of understanding maybe. I didn't want to get my hopes up, I'd always envied those girl's who had a best friend, completely in sync with them.

I'd never found myself in that situation, and I secretly worried that one day, when I became a bride, I'd be seriously lacking in the bridesmaids department. A strange thing for a teenage girl to worry about but I did nonetheless.

I stumbled through the first half of the day mostly on my smile alone, teacher's generally left me alone as they had me pegged as 'the quiet one' already, and it was only my second day. I didn't mind being invisible in classes. In high school, anyone will tell you, being invisible has it's perks.

I didn't hesitate when grabbing the appealing and available seat next to Laura at lunch time. She immedietly noticed me sit down and focused an intent gaze in my direction, leaning in closer to talk to me without being overheard. I caught a glimpse of the other girls at the table, each looking a little jelous that Laura appeared to have taken to me so well.  
>I imagined that it had taken them all equally lengthy amounts of time to be truly regarded highly by her, she certainly wasn't lacking on the friends front.<p>

'You must've made quite an impression on my brother Kate! He rarely takes me into the woods, I hope he didn't convince you that he's a complete loser?' She laughed, 'his social skills need some work' I smiled at this, thinking that he'd never develop these so called 'skills', and he'd be content to do so.

I found myself laughing genuinely, through her witty talk, I could sense her unconditional love for him, it shone in her eyes spectacularly. Something told me she approved of his anti-social ways, and that she wouldn't want him to change. I was just about to reply when I felt a slight pressure on my shoulder, glancing upwards I met the beautifully striking blue eyes I'd been hoping for all day.

'Is this seat taken?'

**Once again I am sorry for how long this has taken me! P.S who, or more likely what, do you think Kate was dreaming about? Reading and reviewing would be MUCH appreciated! :) xx**


	6. But, I gave you all

**I apologise again, profusely for how long this has taken me!  
>Disclaimer: I own nothing :( but the storyline.<br>**

Laura spoke up before I had even the slightest chance.

Leaning her way around me to look her brother directly in the eye. In a way that was both challenging, and questioning.

One of the things I admired most about Laura, her ability to challenge Derek without so much as batting an eyelid.

I had a feeling they challenged each other often, in a playful way, I guessed it was a way to keep things interesting, and in my mind it was worth is to see the awestruck expressions coming from the rest of the table.

'Yes it is' Laura shot out, grinning slightly. 'Since when have you wanted to sit at the, and I quote 'Gossip Girl table'?'

The corners of Derek's mouth tilted upwards, not quite a smile, but a smirk. He was clearly amused that his attempt to annoy Laura had been entirely successful.

'I'm offended!' dramatically slapping his chest to feign mock-hurt, 'Don't you love your older brother oh so much?' Derek said whilst pulling out the chair in question and placing himself firmly on it. He had no lunch with him, a detail I surprisingly didn't find strange, with it being him.

He lifted his muscular forearms up, as I cursed myself inwardly for noticing, and propped his elbows up on the table.

A deliberate move to appear casual, indifferent to the table load of females gazing at him intently. His arm grazed mine only slightly when he shifted but it was enough to send a white-hot spark of electricity up my arm, warming my skin and making all the tiny hairs promptly stand to attention.

Derek, of course, didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. Or if he did he was doing a very good job of hiding it.

Laura was still grinning at her brother, oblivious to my body's crazy internal reactions.

'I don't know where you got that silly idea from' she retorted and finished off with a wink. Laura seemed to decide then, to end the teasing, and pulled some history books out of her bag to study for a test I knew we had next period.

That meant that Derek's attention had now shifted, towards me. After last night's weirdly intimate and intense situation, I was worried that things would be plain awkward the next day.

Apparently no such fears gripped Derek, when he proceeded to question about my day so far, what classes I had sat through, the teachers I'd had, what television I had recorded last night, and concluded with a lecture as to how vital it is to have breakfast in the mornings.

Despite the lecture, It was anything but a relief when the bell rang, loud, shrill and crystal clear. I reluctantly picked up my bag, bidding Derek and everyone around the table a resigned goodbye. I sensed that most of the girls had only just barely recovered from Derek's arrival, giving me the strong impression that he didn't associate with Laura's friends often.

Laura linked her slender arm through mine on the way to British History, linking arms with her felt easy, natural. Almost like we'd been close friends the majority of our lives.

'My brother likes you' she remarked happily. Seeing my confusion she added 'He doesn't exactly take an interest in many people, he's how do I put it? picky about his friends'  
>Her eyes shone, filled with her obvious love and admiration for him.<p>

I wasn't really sure how to respond without embarrassing myself, so I gave her what I hoped was a genuine smile and took my newly claimed seat next to hers. I glanced at her throughout the quiz, wondering why on earth she'd chosen to befriend me of all people.

No matter how long we stayed in Beacon Hills, I knew that i'd always remember Laura Hale. Her friendship had eased me through the hardest part of moving to a new town, the first day. Her brother on the other hand, I felt sure I wouldn't forget him in a hurry either, but for an entirely different reason.

I was almost certain that I had dreamt about him at some point last night, his beautiful blue eyes struck a chord in my hazy memory of my dreams. How had I gone from dreaming about Derek, and his perfect features, to waking up screaming? I put it down to stress, it had to be stress.

The rest of the day dragged painfully slowly. I frequently found myself counting down the minutes to go until I could get out of this cagey modern building, and just be outside. I planned to go for a lengthy run that night, an excellent way to clear my head, and I needed to before my father had the chance to get on my case about it.

His rule was 'Three miles a day: Minimum' for the hunting business you had to be sure that you maintained a good fitness level. Thinking about my father put me slightly on edge, a knot in my stomach threatened to fully form.

He'd been intensely scouting the area for a few days now, standard protocol when we moved anywhere new. I was hoping and praying that this time he wouldn't find anything. I was secretly terrified that he'd uncover somebody in one of my classes, someone I'd borrowed notes from, someone I'd spoken to briefly.

I'd never consider sharing my fears with him, in his eyes, hunting came first. Above friendships, relationships, basically any form of ties.

As if my gut instinct had been some kind of warning, at the end of the school day I opened my cell phone to a single menacing text.

'Family meeting: Six O'clock sharp. Dad x'

He'd found something.

**I'm thinking of doing a Derek P.O.V for the next chapter, thoughts? Reading and reviewing would be massively appreciated! :) **


	7. The moon is the only friend I have

**A/N: Updates will be regular now I promise! Sorry again that this has taken so long! 'there is no apology in the world that encompasses all the reasons that' I haven't gotten around to this! xx **

**Derek POV**

I slowly relaxed in the worn leather chair that Kate had been perched on just the previous night, propping my bare feet on the wooden table scattered with gossip magazines and kicking a few aside, all belonging to Laura, so obsessed with the shiny world outside of this town.

My sister sat across from me, the new found light in her eyes apparent whilst she rambled excitably about the possibilities her new friend could bring.  
>The places they could go together, I got the sense that although Laura already had a bunch of friends, and Kate was definitely more like her, a friend she had chosen herself.<p>

Kate seemed more and more like a shiny new toy in a store or in this case a small backwater town obsessed with tradition.

Although normally Laura's ramblings would usually receive my up most attention, the hairs on the back of my neck were still slightly raised when I thought back to the strange encounter I'd had at the gas station earlier.

Laura interrupted my cautious reverie with a question, 'you seem to like her, Kate I mean? She's cool right?' She was staring intently at me, a slight grin on her face.  
>It hit me then that Laura had mistaken my interest in the new girl to mean something else entirely.<p>

Laura thought I was interested in her romantically.

I asked questions purely to gain information; she was a newcomer, a potential threat to their way of life. I was merely determining whether Laura was safe to hang out with her, or at least that was the story I was sticking to for the time-being.

'She's interesting. Different to your usual herd of gigglers' I teased, knowing that Laura wouldn't be able to resist biting back when I poked fun at her friends. They were harmless for the most part, more shallow and vexing than Laura, but that was High School.

I looked up from my feet to watch Laura form a response, hoping she wouldn't question me further about me liking her new friend.  
>I hoped wholeheartedly that Kate was harmless, Laura grew attached to people easily, and I could already see the signs of Laura growing attached to the interesting girl.<p>

'You seem anxious, Derek. Something's happened hasn't it? Did mom call?' the statement shocked me, momentarily I'd forgotten that after growing up so close, Laura was almost an expert at reading my most hidden facial expressions.  
>I didn't miss the hopeful look on her face when she asked about our mother, I silently fumed at her again, for leaving us in the dark like this, with only Peter for guidance.<p>

'I'm not anxious, I'm fine. She hasn't called today, maybe she'll check in tonight? Don't worry about her Laura. Something a little strange happened on my way home from school, I'm sure it was nothing' I tried to be diplomatic with my wording so I wouldn't unnecessarily freak her out.

'What happened?' She enquired, her entire body angled toward me, intently waiting for me to tell her.

'I was filling up my car on the way home, keeping my head down; you know the normal routine. When I made eye contact with a man across the lot, I realized then that he'd been staring, stood frozen for quite a while, and he's definitely not from around here, so I hurried and got the hell out of there.'

'Do you think he's one of them?' Laura was straight to the point as always, asking the one question I'd been dreading answering, a stranger in town with an almost speculative interest in me? There was a definite possibility he could be a hunter.

I'd fortunately only met one hunter in my life, but I'd recognise that calculating look anywhere. He was sizing me up that much is obvious, what wasn't obvious however was what he had found.

I'd worked Laura hard all her life about fitting in, staying under the radar. She hadn't understood for a long time why she couldn't run track, or show her friends the things she deemed cool, like her extra strength.

We'd lived inconspicuously in Beacon Hills for many years; nobody in the small town seemed to suspect a thing was out of the ordinary. Laura playing the part of the normal preppy high school girl well. I played the part of her aloof charming older brother equally as well.

'I'm not going to sit here and lie to you L, there is a chance that he could be, like I said he definitely wasn't from around here and a town as small as this doesn't exactly get many tourists'

Laura offered me a small smile in response but I could tell that behind her calm exterior she was running through all of the sickening possibilities and consequences of being found. I'd be willing to bet that almost of all of them ended in certain death.

I cursed my mother internally again for the hundredth time this week. Laura needed her support now more than ever, support that as hard as I might try, I couldn't provide for her.

Kate entered my head again for the 20th time that day, as I silently crossed my fingers that she'd become the real friend that my sister needed.

'We just have to be more careful' my sister, ever the optimist. She sighed and rose from the couch  
>'I'm going to call Kate, and ask her about our history project, you know I like to get things finished ahead of schedule'<p>

I waved her off and laughed quietly as she left the room, I conceded to myself that I had raised her well, with our parents absent for the most part.  
>Laura had learned from an early age to put her 'talents' into outlets that she could excel at without causing suspicious, her school work for example was always top notch.<br>Something that I'd never cared about. When I graduated I would not be using calculus to survive.

The survival skills I needed could never be taught in the class room, and as much as I distrusted my uncle, if I survived without detection in the long term it would largely be down to him and his training to control my strengthened impulses.

Surviving, once high school was over, that would be the main goal. More realistically, that had always been our family's main goal. I was vaguely aware that this was not a normal worry. Most teenagers don't have to worry about whether or not they're going to make it through high school without being hunted, and survive until graduation.

I relaxed slightly, reclining further into the worn leather and pictured the stranger from the gas station more clearly in my mind, focusing and committing his greying hair, cold inquisitive eyes and tall wiry physique to memory in case I encountered him again.

As I pictured him more clearly this time without a tinge of panic, his face brought one niggling thought to the forefront of my mind.

I felt my pulse decisively quicken. I was almost certain that the stranger bore a strong resemblance to the new, quiet, intelligent friend that Laura had made.

The stranger from the gas station almost certainly bore the same eyes as Kate Argent.


End file.
